Phoenix University Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona, west of Phoenix. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. It replaces the Devil Tempered Sun Stadium as the main stadium in the Valley of the Sun. The stadium is adjacent to the Gila River Arena and features a fully natural grass tapestry surface built in the United States over the AirField Systems drainage system. Opening on one side of the stadium allows the playing field to move to the exterior of the building, allowing the entire surface to play natural grass exposed to the sun and also allows the floor of the stadium to be used for other purposes (such as concert seating or to accommodate motor sport events) without damaging the grass.
The stadium has hosted the Fiesta Bowl, BCS 2007 National Championship, BCS 2011 National Championship, and the National Playoff 2016 National Playoff Championship, a match held every four years, which sets a record of 78,603 venue entertainment entertainment on January 11, 2011, Bowl XLII, 2015 Super Bowl XLIX, 2023 Super Bowl LVII, 2015 Pro Bowl, WrestleMania XXVI, and a match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2015. This is one of the stadiums for the Copa Amà © Centica Centenario in 2016, with one of those matches become the 3rd place final. It hosts the NCAA Final Four in 2017.
The University of Phoenix gained naming rights in September 2006, shortly after the stadium opened under the name of Cardinals Stadium . The "University of Phoenix" name is applied as a corporate sponsor, and not as a university home stadium, which has no interlinked athletic program.
Video University of Phoenix Stadium
Information and facility history
Since moving to Arizona in 1988, Cardinals have played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. The Cardinals only plan to play there until a new stadium can be built in Phoenix. However, the saving and lending crisis derailed funding for the new stadium. Over time, the Cardinals expressed frustration at being only tenants at the college football stadium. Less owning stadiums have denied their additional revenue stream is available for other NFL teams. The Cardinals campaigned for several years for new and more modern facilities.
The 63,400 seater stadium opened on August 1, 2006 after three years of development. The stadium was designed by Eisenman Architects and HOK Sport (now Populous). The stadium is considered an architectural icon for the region and named by Business Week as one of the world's 10 most impressive sports facilities due to a combination of a retractable roof (Walter P Moore's engineering design) and field natural grass bolsters, similar to GelreDome and Veltins-Arena. Ceremonial breakthrough for the new stadium was held on April 12, 2003.
LED video and ribbon displays from Daktronics in Brookings, South Dakota were installed in 2006 before Arizona's first game of the season.
The project cost is $ 455 million. That total includes $ 395.4 million for the stadium, $ 41.7 million for site improvement, and $ 17.8 million for land. Stadium contributors include the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority ($ 302.3 million), Arizona Cardinals ($ 143.2 million), and City of Glendale ($ 9.5 million).
The stadium has 88 luxury suites - called luxury lofts - with space for 16 future suites as the stadium matures.
25 hectares (10 ha) around the stadium is called Sportsman's Park. Included within the Park is a 8 hectare (3.2 hectare) landscape tailgating area called Great Lawn.
There is no unobstructed seat of sight in the stadium. There are areas that are visible on the upper deck of the end zone where seating can be included but not because of the giant super columns that support the roof structure.
The stadium seating capacity can be expanded by 8,800 for "mega-events" such as campus bowls, NFL Super Bowls, and NFC Championship Games by adding a "X-frame" portable riser and seat. The endzone area on the side of the facility where the input tray and exit facilities can be extended to accommodate additional seating.
The roof is made of "Air Birds" translucent fabrics and is opened in 12 minutes. This is the first retractable roof ever built on a slope.
Maps University of Phoenix Stadium
Events
These events include Arizona Cardinals games; public grand opening tours held 19 and 20 August 2006 (attended by 120,000 people); various performances, expositions, trade shows, and motor sport events; AIA 4A and 5A country championship matches for football (junior high school to win a football championship at the stadium is Cactus Shadows High School of Cave Creek, Arizona on December 2nd, 2006); international football matches.
The versatile nature of the facility has made it possible to host 91 events representing 110 days of events between August 4, 2006 through the BCS National Championship January 8, 2007.
NFL
The first pre-season football game was played August 12, 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-13. The first regular season match was played September 10 against the San Francisco 49ers (the Cardinals won 34-27). The stadium air conditioning system made it possible for the Cardinals to play at home on the opening weekend of the NFL season for the first time since moving to Arizona in 1988.
On October 16, 2006, the stadium hosted an important game between the Cardinals and the unbeaten Chicago Bears where the Bear returned from a 20-point deficit to beat the Cardinals. The Bears will then play in Super Bowl XLI.
The University of Phoenix Stadium hosted the Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 where the New York Giants defeated the 17-14 New England Patriots who were previously unbeaten with a crowd of 71.101 paid audience. This is the second time Phoenix area hosts the Super Bowl, another Super Bowl XXX held at nearby Tempe at the Sun Devil Stadium in 1996 when the Dallas Cowboys beat Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Cardinals' first playoff game since 1947 took place at the stadium on January 3, 2009, with Arizona defeating the Atlanta Falcons, 30-24. The stadium also hosted the 2008-09 NFC Championship Game between Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles on January 18, 2009, where the Cardinals won 32-25 in front of more than 70,000 fans in attendance.
The 2015 Pro Bowl is the first Pro Bowl held at the same location as the same Super Bowl since 2010. The Pro Bowl returns to Hawaii in 2016. On February 1, 2015, New England Patriots beat Seattle Seahawks at the Super Bowl XLIX held at the stadium.
College Football
The Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2007 featured Boise State Broncos vs. University of Oklahoma Sooners (Boise State won 43-42 overtime); and the BCS National Championship January 8, 2007 between (1) Buckeyes Ohio State and (2) University of Florida Gators, won by Gators 41-14.
It also held Fiesta Fiesta 2008 between Oklahoma Sooners and West Virginia University Mountaineers, as well as Fiesta Fiesta 2009 between Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes. It has also held many high school graduation.
On January 10, 2011, the 2011 BCS National Championship Battle between Auburn Tigers and the Oregon Ducks has a record presence of 78,603 matches for the match.
On January 11, 2016, the University of Phoenix Stadium hosted the Playoff College Football National Championship featuring No. 1. 2nd ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 1 ranked Clemson Tigers.
College College Basketball
The University of Phoenix Stadium hosts the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship in 2017.
Football
On February 7, 2007, the stadium hosted a football game attended by 62,462 fans. United States men's national football team beat Mexico, 2-0. On January 21, 2012, the US played against Venezuela and won the game 1-0.
On January 30, 2013, Mexico played against Denmark, a game broadcast on Televisa Deportes, UniMa, and Azteca TV. The match ended with a 1-1 draw.
On 19 November 2015, the stadium is one of the sites chosen for the Copa Amà © Centica 2016. The stadium hosts three matches, including Mexico vs Uruguay on 5 June, and the third match (United States vs. Colombia) on 25 June.
In the football club, Real Madrid against the MLS team LA Galaxy in August 2013. The Spanish team beat the Galaxy 3-1.
WWE
The stadium hosts WWE WrestleMania XXVI event with 72,219 fans in attendance. The event was held at the stadium on March 28, 2010. WrestleMania XXVI is a twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania wrestling wrestling event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on March 28, 2010, at the University of Phoenix Stadium on the outskirts of Phoenix, Glendale, Arizona. This is the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania XI with a non-title match as the main event, the first WrestleMania held in the state of Arizona and third held in the open, after WrestleMania IX and WrestleMania XXIV. WrestleMania XXVI is a joint promotional event, with players from both Raw and Smackdown brands. The event card consists of eight matches, including three main matches. The first of these matches is no disqualification, no counterattack, where The Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels to boost WrestleMania's unbeaten run to 18-0. In accordance with the provisions of the pre-match, Michaels was forced to retire. The second is a single match for the WWE Championship that saw John Cena defeat Batista to win the championship. The third sees World Class Weight Champion, Chris Jericho, defeating Edge to defend the title. The bottom card also includes a No Boundary game Banned between Bret Hart and Mr. McMahon and the sixth money match in the Bank of ladder. Tickets for the event went on sale to the public on November 7, 2009. WrestleMania XXVI generated around 885,000 PPV purchases, generating gross revenues of $ 49 million. With the attendance of 72,219, the event grossed $ 5.8 million in ticket sales, making it the best-selling event and attending an entertainment event held at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
Concert
More events
Other events include the Banding Marching Band competition High School National Band (the first marching band ever to play in the field is Foothill High School, from Pleasanton, California on December 29, 2006). It has also held many high school graduations.
On August 1, 2009, the stadium hosted Summer Heat Monster, with Maximum Crush beating the Captain's Curse in the final racing and Grave Digger won the freestyle event.
On September 21st, Ron Elsensohn, a former hardcore country punk band Scrotum Grinder, performed harp songs Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
The stadium hosted the first Super Racing Truck race on April 6, 2013.
On January 30, 2016, Monster Jam returned to the stadium for the first time since 2009, with 16 best trucks. On February 6th, the AMA Supercross Championship raced for the first time, having visited Chase Field from 1999 to 2015.
Name rights
On September 26, 2006, the University of Phoenix awarded a $ 154.5 million stadium naming rights for 20 years. On April 11, 2017, the University of Phoenix ended the naming rights of only 11 years to a 20-year contract, citing financial reasons. The stadium is currently looking for a new naming rights partner.
Parking space
The stadium has about 14,000 on-site parking spaces (plus 12,000 adjacent spaces), located in many places that surround 2,000 stadium-disabled parking spaces. Improved design, shown for example in the Discovery program about this stadium, is a zoning. The parking spaces for guests are categorized by the preferred left direction, to achieve the fastest traffic movement.
Notes and references
External links
- Arizona Cardinals website for stadium
- The Global Spectrum website for stadiums
- Arizona's Sports and Tourism Authority
- Phoenix University Stadium Seating Map
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments